A Dangerous Mission
by daily-chan
Summary: Remus is saved during a mission gone horribly wrong and is reminded of his place among his friends. Part of the A Bond of Family series
1. Chapter 1

A Dangerous Mission

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.

Warnings: some violence, language use and strong bromance.

Summary: Remus is saved during a mission gone horribly wrong and is reminded of his place among his friends.

As always special thanks to Kitty for beta-ing this story and for your endless patience.

Chapter 1

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Remus' heart hammered in his throat as he backed up towards the edge of the forest, trying not to jolt his injured arm too badly.

He clenched his teeth against the pain, knowing he couldn't afford to be distracted for even a split second as the pack circled him predatory.

They had wrenched his wand from him within moments of attacking him, tearing into his exposed flesh with their sharp finger nails.

The only reason he hadn't been killed right that instant was because an unexpected burst of magic had thrown them backwards, allowing him the chance to run.

This particular pack clearly enjoyed the hunt as they chased him and he'd thought himself safe when he reached the wards, only to be thrown backwards when trying to pass them.

Fear had clouded his judgement then as he realised the wards were placed there, not to keep intruders out, but to keep his kind inside and he had no way of escape as the wards also prevented Apparition.

A pained gasp escaped him as he stepped wrongly on his injured foot, the pack suddenly moving forward as one, clearly seeing their chance.

Remus clenched his eyes shut, knowing he didn't stand a chance when suddenly a loud crack sounded as someone broke through the wards with enough force to explode the trees around them.

Heat washed over him as fire spread out in a circle around him, protecting him from the pack that was forced to back up or be burned alive and his heart jumped as he saw who had saved him.

"Sirius..." he breathed out as his best friend stepped protectively in front of him, controlling the Fiendfyre.

"Where's your wand."

"They took it from me," Remus swallowed at the anger in the man's voice, the light of the fire casting shadows over the dark-haired man's handsome face and lightening his light grey eyes like they were on fire themselves.

" _Accio wand_ ," the piece of wood soared through the sky and Sirius caught it out of the air without even glancing in the direction.

" _Ferula,"_ Remus sighed relieved as the pain in his broken arm immediately lessened as Sirius tightly bound it to his side with bandages. It was still rendered useless, but at least there was no danger of it being hurt further.

"Si..."

"Any life threatening injuries that need to be taken care of right away that I can't see?" Sirius cut him off and Remus shook his head.

"Dizzy, nauseous?"

"Both," Remus admitted, clenching his eyes shut for a moment as his other injuries made themselves known now his arm wasn't taking up the immediate foreground.

"Guess I'll have to fight our way out, but take this just in case," Remus felt Sirius slip his wand into his left hand and gripped it tightly.

"I can't Apparate and the wards keep me inside," Remus warned him.

"I'm well aware of that and since it took most of what I had to get through the wards without breaking them I'll need to try and make a Portkey to get out again."

"Can you?"

"We'll see in a moment, _Portus,_ " was the short reply and Remus shifted closer to Sirius when his vision swam and Sirius pushed a branch into the bandages.

Sirius slipped an arm around his waist, pulling him closer as he had clearly realised Remus would be useless in a fight and might not stay on his feet for too much longer.

The fire began to thin out, but nothing happened and Remus swallowed as he realised the Portkey had failed and they were stuck.

"Leave me..."

"You're delusional, stay back or I will kill you!" Sirius warned the pack as they all moved in, and he raised his wand threateningly, clearly seeing the fire burning out.

"Kill the wolf... maim, kill," the leader of the pack snarled and a red spell shot from Sirius' wand, stunning the werewolf coming too near in a clear warning.

But it didn't work and several of them attacked when their leader snarled again, jumping over the fading fire, but Sirius blasted them backwards while pushing Remus protectively behind him, before letting out a string of curses that forced the others back, killing those who attempted to come close regardless.

Suddenly his grip tightened on Remus' good arm to an almost painful one and Remus gasped when all of a sudden he felt a sharp tug behind his navel and the world became unfocused as the Portkey activated after all.

He would have landed in a painful heap on the ground if Sirius hadn't had such a strong grip on his arm, keeping him upright as they landed and immediately Remus' stomach turned.

Sirius barely managed to get out of the way as Remus emptied out his stomach in the grass below him, not aware of anything and utterly useless should they still be under attack as he couldn't focus on anything but the burning of his throat and he panicked as he was suddenly unable to breath.

"Easy..." as sudden as it had begun, his airway cleared again and he coughed more roughly as air returned to him and he sagged against Sirius, breathing deeply.

"Next time I ask you if you have any life threatening injuries, don't lie to me," Sirius eventually grumbled and Remus suddenly became aware that he wasn't in half as much pain any more and his head was now resting in Sirius' lap.

"Sorry..."

"I'm taking us to James in a little while so you can rest properly there."

"Thanks, how did you know I was in trouble?"

"Alice. She overheard where Dumbledore send you and immediately warned me."

"Why warn?" Remus asked shakily, the world turning before his eyes as he tried to sit up and thankfully closed his eyes when Sirius made him lean against him, holding him up.

"Because every wizard knows about the Highland pack and knows it is suicide to go there."

"I had never heard of them before," Remus admitted, taking slow breaths as Sirius was clearly healing his other injuries.

"That's because you fail to do your research before leaving on these useless missions."

"They are not useless, Siri...I..." Remus swallowed, unable to lie to his best friend when he knew he was right. It didn't matter how long Remus lived among his own kind, the only thing every pack agreed upon was that they'd be better off under Voldemort's rule.

And if he was very honest with himself, he couldn't blame them, not when most of society shunned creatures like him and hate ran wide and deep against them for something they couldn't even help.

"Yeah well, I'm not sorry to say I disagree. And I will be having a word with Dumbledore, the bastard should have known better than to send you there."

"I doubt he knew..." Remus tried to defend their old headmaster.

"Bullocks! He should know where he sends members of the Order, especially when he insists on sending a valuable one on these uselessly dangerous missions."

"I'm not...I'm the only one who can do this, Siri..." Remus whispered.

"Why? Because the packs don't trust wizards? How the hell are they ever going to trust anyone if they only send other werewolves to talk to them? What sign to a promise of a better life does it give when they can't even bother to send a wizard?"

"You do realise I am also a wizard, don't you?" Remus asked a hint of a smile on his face.

"Then start acting like one. Because from what I've seen today, you're an awful excuse of one," Sirius snapped. "You are a brilliant wizard, strong and powerful when you want to be. So why didn't you blast the hell out of them and fight them off?"

"I...are you mad at me?" Remus blinked.

"Yes! No...damn it, Remus, you are better than these useless missions and you're going to get yourself killed at this rate! And for what? For Dumbledore's ego trips in thinking he can change things like this? I can tell you, it's not going to work!"

"Sirius..."

"Don't...just...don't talk right now. Let's go to James' so you can rest and I can vent my anger at the right person," Sirius cut him off.

Remus swallowed thickly as he allowed the dark-haired man to pull him to his feet and pull the now useless Portkey from between his bandages, transfiguring it into a garbage can before holding it out to him.

"In case your stomach gets upset again."

"Thank you for coming after me," Remus ignored the garbage can in favour of grabbing Sirius' wrist.

"Yeah...don't make me have to do it again. If that Rune hadn't activated when it did..."

"I thought I recognised your signature in that burst of magic. When did you draw it on me?"

"Last night while you slept, after you told me the old goat wanted to see you at noon," Sirius' tone was curt and Remus only nodded, aware the younger man was trying his hardest not to yell at him.

He finally caught a glimpse of their surroundings and was surprised to find they were next to a small stream at the base from a hill on which stood a large cylindrical house.

"Where are we?"

"That's Pandora's house," Sirius nodded to the odd looking house.

"Should have known," Remus chuckled fondly. "Wasn't she home?"

"It was the only place I could think of that's not James and Lily's house. It's kind of late to go banging on a door, just to say hello," Sirius shrugged, not truly answering his question. "I don't think Xenophilius would take kindly to us disturbing his highly pregnant wife from her rest."

"You never know, he's odd enough to just welcome us in," Remus teased, feeling a little better.

"That might be, but I'm against disturbing her when there's no need for it. Once I'd assessed your injuries I realised there was no need for outside help and dragged you to the stream to clean you up."

"How long have we been here?" Remus asked confused, having thought only a few minutes had passed since they'd arrived.

"About four hours. You passed out once you could breathe again and I healed your injuries in that time and let you rest for a bit."

Remus glanced down properly now, suddenly aware that his injuries had indeed been treated and the pain was mostly absent.

"I'm sorry..."

"I know. We should go though, we'll probably wake Lily as it is."

"What time is it?"

"Past eleven, you left for your mission around four pm and I found you just after six," he informed him so he could form his own time-line, clearly aware he still felt a bit foggy.

"Oh...you could also just take us home. I could rest there too," Remus offered despite being aware Sirius would never leave him alone but would want to yell at Dumbledore as soon as possible before his temper left.

"You're going to James' and Lily's, don't bother arguing. Now lean against me as I don't think I'd be able to catch you again if you slip," Sirius admitted and Remus looked down at him, suddenly aware of just how tight the other man's expression was and that he was covered in blood.

"Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, you're the one who's been used as a scratching post," Sirius brushed him off so Remus wrapped his unbound arm around Sirius' waist to get a good grip on him and closed his eyes when indicated so Sirius could Apparate them.


	2. Chapter 2

The sound of crying woke Lily up in the middle of the night and with a groan she shifted to alert James, surprised to find the other wasn't present in bed.

"James?" she rolled out of bed and slipping into her slippers when the crying was abruptly cut off.

She paused, confused as it didn't sound like the times where Harry's tears had run out and he'd drifted off to sleep again.

Then his crying would fade into whimpers and hiccups until he'd finally cried himself back to sleep, which was usually the case when he was unwilling to settle because the one he wanted wasn't there.

Curious and a little worried she grabbed her bathrobe and wand and slipped out of the bedroom. It didn't feel like anything was wrong, but she couldn't not check it out when her baby was suddenly so quiet.

But every hint of worry vanished as she caught the sound of a soft voice when she drew near and a smile formed on her lips as she recognised it immediately.

"Hey," she whispered as she came to a stop in the door opening of the nursery, smiling at the sight of Sirius holding Harry against his chest, lightly rocking him as he hummed a nursery rhyme under his breath.

He turned to her with a soft smile, never stopping his calm rocking as he did.

"Hey, James called me," he explained his unexpected presence even though she had no intention of asking what he was doing here.

He knew he was always more than welcome, no matter the time of day.

"And here I thought you were breaking in," she teased, moving into the room as Harry gurgled happily at his godfather, raising his tiny arms up towards the tag on Sirius' dog collar.

"Silly Mummy, how could it be breaking in when I've got a key," Sirius cooed at the small child, lifting him so he could reach the tag, which he promptly ignored in favour for running his small hands over Sirius' jaw. "You like that, don't you?"

Lily laughed as Sirius lifted her six months old baby up above his head and blew a raspberry onto his clothed belly button, making Harry squeal in delight.

"Where is James?" she asked as Sirius settled Harry back into his arms, cradling him as he began to softly rock him.

"Out cold on the living room couch. Poor sod said he'd been trying to get Harry to settle for over an hour, trying not to wake you."

"I didn't hear a thing until you arrived."

"I've been here for over two hours already, Lil. He was drifting off peacefully until I tried to put him down. You probably didn't hear anything before because James cast a Silencing Charm to assure you'd not be woken."

"You know he doesn't like being separated from you once he's got you," Lily leaned against him as Sirius moved towards her, relishing in the warmth of his body even as the nursery was anything but cold despite it being early January.

"I could try, though," Sirius lightly bumping into her as she yawned. "Why don't you go back to bed while I try to get this little one settled again?"

"Are you sure? I thought you were leaving on a mission today?"

"I abandoned my mission," Sirius' smile vaporised as he sighed, looking down at the dozing baby in his arms. "I killed five people today."

Lily's heart gave a painful tug for the man beside her, knowing how much it always hurt him when he was forced to take a life, no matter who it was.

"What happened? I thought Dumbledore was sending you to the Goblins?"

"I never left. Alice found me and told me Remus had been sent to the Highland pack."

"I assume they are special?" Lily bit her lip as Sirius stared at her strangely for a long moment.

"I always forget that you didn't grow up learning all this. The Highland pack lives in the Scottish Highlands, hence the name. The Ministry placed protective wards surrounding the area they live in to keep the pack there and Muggle Repelling Charms to keep Muggles away."

"They are kept there all the time? But they are only wolves during the full moon!" Lily was horrified to learn this group was basically held prisoner.

"I know it sounds horrible, but it's the best solution in this case. Back in the fifties this pack attacked a nearby Muggle village and slaughtered every villager in a horrifying way. This happened while they were human and not even close to the full moon. The pack was too big to throw them into Azkaban so the Ministry locked them there."

"They...that's horrible. Why did they attack a whole village?"

"They attacked because the villagers allowed a known werewolf to reside within their group. One not of their pack."

"And Dumbledore send Remus there?"

"Despite knowing how hostile they are, even to other werewolves and aware of the wards on that place," Sirius growled, taking care to keep his voice even and low as Harry was dozing off again in his arms.

"That re...no...You said they were locked in there with wards. I assume they based the wards on their lycanthropy? But then..." Lily's eyes widened as Sirius nodded.

"Remus was unable to Apparate or leave. He was completely at the mercy of a large group of maniacal werewolves."

"Is he all right?"

"He's alive and his wounds healed. I arrived in the nick of time and managed to fight them off before I could create an illegal portkey to get us out of there. After healing his wounds and letting him rest a bit I took him here. He's currently asleep in the guest room."

"Good," Lily sighed relieved. "And you?"

"I dropped Remus off into James' care and stayed until he fell asleep before I left to go yell at Dumbledore. Not that it'll do a whole lot of good as you know Remus will go infiltrate another pack the moment Dumbledore asks," Sirius sighed frustrated, carefully sitting down in the rocking chair and adjusting his hold on Harry.

"It's where I was when James contacted me because he couldn't get Harry to settle down."

Harry stirred a little at his movement, but settled again when he clearly recognised the movement from the rocking chair and knew his godfather wouldn't try to set him down again.

Lily took a place on the other chair and rested her hand on Sirius' knee.

"I more meant, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Sirius shrugged.

"That's not an answer to my question, Siri," Lily raised an eyebrow.

"They didn't get close to me."

"I know you are fine physically, I can see as much when you're only wearing boxers and a shirt of James," she teased and he glanced down as if he had forgotten what he was wearing.

"I didn't want to scare Harry with blood covered clothing," he explained. "And don't worry; I already had the mental breakdown with James."

"I'm not afraid of your tears, Siri. I just want to know if you are all right."

"I'll be fine. I just need a bit of time and try not to be frustrated with Remus when he goes out there again," Sirius sighed.

"I know he can be frustrating. Remus is so incredibly loyal to that man, if Dumbledore asked him to jump off a bridge I think he might just do it, too," Lily sighed as she leaned her head against his shoulder when he hummed in agreement.

"Dumbledore is going to get him killed and Remus will happily let it happen."

"We'll just have to do our best to keep him safe," Lily patted his knee before straightening.

"Do you want me to take him so that you can get some sleep?"

"I think we know better than to attempt that," Sirius chuckled.

"Would you like me to retrieve a sweater or so then?" she suggested. "I know it's not cold here, but I suspect you won't be able to put him down again tonight so you might as well get comfortable."

"A blanket would be nice, a sweater would mean letting go of him."

"And the demanding little one would not like that," Lily laughed, quickly retrieving a blanket from the closet and draping it around Sirius as he leaned forward.

Harry made a protesting sound and curled his little fists into Sirius' shirt as he moved, but settled again when Sirius leaned back in the rocking chair again.

"Thanks. You should go get some sleep. If it's all right with you, then I might take him for a ride in the morning," Sirius added as he cradled Harry in his arm securely, lightly beginning to rock the chair again.

"Like you ever need to ask permission if you want to take him for a ride. You know he loves that motorbike of yours," Lily smiled.

If there was anyone she trusted with her baby, it was the man before her. She'd let him take Harry to the moon if he asked and while that thought should scare her, it didn't, not at all.

"Be careful, though."

"Don't worry, Lil. I'm always careful when driving with Harry," he misinterpreted her words.

"I know Harry is perfectly safe with you and that you'd give your life for him in a flash, I just meant to be careful out there."

"I will be," he agreed readily and she knew he'd not take any chances when it came to Harry.

It was funny when she thought about it.

Just four years previously, she would not have given the man before her the time of day and now she blindly trusted him with her son.

And it should scare her to know just how deeply this man had wormed his way into her heart.

Her friends had often joked that by agreeing to date one Marauder, she had gotten them all.

But she knew that was not entirely true.

Although she was close to Remus and Peter, it was only Sirius who had become like a brother to her.

It had been the dark-haired Black heir who had gotten her to give James a chance, letting her fall hard for the love of her life, just as he had predicted she would.

Sirius had been the one who had stood by her during her pregnancy, there for every maternity class and although unplanned, even for the birth itself.

Throughout it all it had been Sirius who had helped James and her with everything, enthusiastically and eager to welcome the baby into the world even while she hurtled abuse at him during the unscheduled delivery.

He hadn't just become a dear friend to her and her husband's adopted little brother, he had become hers, too.

If anyone had told her she would bond with Sirius Black of all people the way she had a few years ago then she would never have believed it, but she found that she wouldn't want it any other way.

She watched the young man cradle his godson protectively with slight envy.

She loved her son more than anything, but had needed some practice to truly get the hang of parenthood.

Sirius on the other hand was a pure natural and brilliant with Harry.

It saddened Lily to know it was unlikely the man would ever become a parent himself when he was one of those rare men truly born to be a parent.

But she was more than happy that he was so willing to be a part of his godson's life and treasured every moment she saw them together as Harry was more than taken with his godfather, too.

It scared her that there might be a time where she would be unable to see her son grow up as she and James were both targets in the war.

But she was comforted by knowing he would be in fantastic hands with his godfather.

Sirius was a good influence on Harry's young mind and although she was sure he would spoil the child rotten when given the chance, if the tons of stuffed animals and toys for future use were anything to go by, he would also raise him into a fine young man.

And that knowledge allowed her to sleep at night as it eased her worries about her role in the war somewhat as it carried on.

Sirius seemed unaware of her darker thoughts as he urged her on. "Go on, return to bed while you still can."

"You are truly sure?" Lily shook her thoughts off and smiled.

"Shush girl, can't you see Harry and I want to be alone?" Sirius grinned as Harry curled his small hands further into the fabric of Sirius' shirt, smacking his lips in his sleep.

But his smile fell as his eyes tightened. "I think I just need a moment alone, he helps calm me and remind me what we're fighting for."

A wry smile formed on his lips before Lily could respond. "And he keeps me from wanting to throttle Remus right now."

Laughing Lily nodded, pressing a kiss to his temple as she rose to her feet. "I'll let Harry keep you from doing things you might regret, then."

"Thanks, sleep well."

With a wave she left them to it and returned to bed, quickly drifting off to sleep, secure in the knowledge her son was in the safest hands.


	3. Chapter 3

It was early in the morning when Remus woke up, groaning when his muscles protested as he sat up.

"Good morning," a voice to his right greeted him and he slowly turned to see James sitting in the chair beside his bed.

"James?" Confused Remus blinked at him, not sure why he was in Sirius' room at the Potter house.

"You arrived last night with Sirius after he busted your butt out of trouble," James calmly informed him and suddenly Remus remembered how he'd gotten there and groaned.

"How mad is Sirius?"

"He's taken Harry for a spin on his motorbike about two hours ago and told me to tell you that if you were not in this house when he came back, he'd drag you down and sit on you for the rest of the day."

"That mad, huh?"

"Yeah well, I can't blame him, Moony. What were you thinking?"

"I didn't know it was a hostile pack," Remus sighed as he sat up properly.

"You could have done your research as we always do before we leave on missions, precisely to prevent walking into traps and situations like these."

"Dumbledore send me...he..." Remus tried to defend their leader.

"Makes mistakes, just like every other human being. The difference between our mistakes and his is that he can get multiple people killed. Did you know that Sirius got him to admit he knew the pack was hostile?"

"What?" Remus snapped his head to James. "Sirius _got_ him to admit that?"

"Yes, during Sirius' little confrontation, Dumbledore let it slip that he had not expected the pack to attack another werewolf."

"It's logical reasoning, even known hostile packs are usually only hostile towards humans..."

"Don't defend him...not this time, Remus," James snapped, pushing his chair back as he rose to his feet in anger. "And especially not in front of Sirius. Not after this. You didn't see yourself when you arrived, only half awake."

"Sirius had already healed my wounds when I came to," Remus acknowledged.

"Four hours later, Remus. Four hours! Did you notice that Sirius was covered in blood, your blood? Because from the sight of it, you were doing your very best to bleed out on him," James' voice rose an octave as he began to pace. "Would have if he had followed our normal security procedures and Apparated around with you several times before stopping."

"I had no idea I was that badly injured. But he didn't Apparate, he made a Portkey to Pandora's house," Remus was taken aback by the sudden temper displayed by the other man as James usually left the yelling to Sirius these days.

"I know, Pandora contacted me to let me know the two of you would come here once Sirius had taken care of you. Told me that you were in bad shape but would be all right and that Sirius only needed a bit of undisturbed rest before he could Apparate."

"Pandora...but Sirius said..." Remus trailed off, confused as Sirius had said he hadn't wanted to disturb her.

"He didn't contact her, but she felt his approach through the wards and contacted me at his request after he'd told her he didn't need help with you," James seemed to read his confusion. "And at any rate, no matter how angry he is with you, he's hardly going to tell you he got hurt while breaking through those wards."

"Sirius got hurt?" Remus shot up alarmed, gasping as his muscles protested at the sudden movement.

"He burned through extremely strong wards, trying to get to you in time. What do you think happened? He skipped around happily on a meadow? Of course he got hurt," James clearly wasn't very happy about it as he frustrated ran a hand through his hair.

"He used the Rune he'd drawn on you to locate you and Apparate to your side. From what I could gather, he arrived in the nick of time as it was."

"He did. I don't think I would have survived if he hadn't shown up when he did," Remus admitted.

"Yeah, I'm sure he told Dumbledore that too when he left to go yell at him."

"He actually went through with that?" Remus wasn't sure why he was surprised by that as he knew Sirius was stubborn as a mule when he set his mind to something and nothing would be able to stop him.

James didn't bother with an answer as he clearly thought Remus should know the answer to that and returned the chair to the small desk.

"He didn't give me a word for word play, but I do know he gave the man a good dressing down of exactly where he should stick his know-it-all foolish mind and what he would do to him if he ever send you to such a dangerous place again. Leader of the light be damned," James smiled faintly as Remus stared at him wide-eyed.

"He told Dumbledore all that?"

"Hexed him fairly heavily, too, when he let it slip that he'd known where he was sending you."

"Merlin," Remus breathed out, both horrified and awed at Sirius' nerve and temper before he realised James had never truly answered his question.

"James...is Sirius all right," Remus asked as he wobbly got to his feet.

"He was angry and frustrated when he left to go yell at Dumbledore and rather upset when he left with Harry this morning," James crossed the room to steady him.

"You let him leave while he was upset?" Remus asked incredulous.

"What did you want me to do, tie him to a chair until he's not upset any more? You almost died, Remus."

Sudden tears appeared in James' eyes as he kicked at the bed. "You could have died right there and we would never have seen you again because we never have the foggiest idea of where you are off to!"

"Dumbledore knew where I was off to," Remus argued.

"Yeah? Fat load of good that would do. He'd insist you are all right and just laying low to not give yourself away and we'd not know you are dead until much later," James growled angrily, reminding Remus eerily of Sirius when the other was angry.

"There is always a risk of running into trouble and dying on any of our mission," Remus weakly protested, uncomfortable at the sight of James' tears.

"Of course there is! But at least Sirius and I know where to find each other when we're on these missions and stay in contact."

"You know Dumbledore disapproves of us sharing any information about our missions due to the traitor in our midst," Remus sighed, already knowing James' answer to that before the other spoke as it was no doubt the same thing Sirius always told him in their arguments.

"Especially because of that! We are a family, Remus. That means we stick together and have each other's backs. How are we supposed to have your back when we have no idea where you are or if you're even still alive until you return?" James yelled, not disappointing Remus.

"You are remarkably like Sirius when you're arguing," Remus couldn't stop the words from slipping out and James blinked surprised, taken aback.

"What?"

"Sirius uses the exact same arguments when we're arguing about this subject. I'm sorry, I didn't meant to interrupt you rant, it just slipped out," Remus nervously licked his dry lips as James stared at him with an unreadable expression for a long moment.

"Don't...I know you think the world of Dumbledore and would walk through fire for the man, but please give us a sign of life now and then when you're on a mission. Just...just so we know you are all right and we won't worry so much," James swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing as he turned away from him, angrily brushing his tears away and Remus felt his heart clench.

The gesture reminded him of what Sirius unconsciously did whenever the younger man withdrew into himself after an argument like that, shielding himself from Remus to see such a weakness.

And Remus always hated it when that happened as it was a painful reminder of the time before Sirius had opened up to them, always shielding himself mentally when they'd draw too close to his carefully kept secret.

Seeing the familiar gesture in James now hurt more than Remus had ever thought it would as it hit home just how much he had upset his two best friends.

"I'll try to send a message now and then to let you know I am fine," he found himself promising without a thought.

He would probably promise to never leave the house again if it had been Sirius standing across of him instead of James.

Sirius rarely cried, not unless he was truly upset and emotional, as anger was so much easier to fuel into action and defend with, but that was all Remus could see as he stared at James' turned body.

And the mental image of his best friend being upset was enough to make Remus want to do anything he could to get the other to draw out of his shell again.

Anything to erase the tears, and although it was James, not Sirius across of him, the effect was the same and his stomach clenched uncomfortable.

"Be sure to tell Sirius that, too," James cleared his throat, tears suddenly gone.

"You are a very evil person, Prongs," Remus sighed, well aware that James had pulled that move on purpose; knowing Remus would recognise the gesture and hated it.

"Maybe I am, but sometimes it is needed to be evil to get you to see the truth."

James choked out a wry laugh. "Merlin, I don't even want to know what it would do to Sirius if something happened to you. We are all he has, Remus. We are his brothers and he loves us more than anything. The idea of anything happening to you..."

He trailed off and Remus sighed.

"I know. You aren't the only one who wakes him from nightmares, you know. I live with the guy."

"Then you of all people should know better than to just leave on missions without leaving a sign of life now and then," James shot at him. "How would you feel if either of us just disappeared without a word and you've got no idea if we are alive or not until we show up again sometimes months later."

"I know," Remus sighed, able to see the logic in James' words as he would indeed be upset, too. "I'll do my best to stay in contact better. But I won't just break Dumbledore's trust by revealing everything about the missions he gives me."

"Meaning that you are going out there again, despite what happened yesterday," James sighed frustrated and Remus opened his mouth to argue the importance of his missions when James shook his head.

"Don't...let's just get some food into you, Sirius made soup before he left and knowing Lily, she'll have it waiting for you already."

"James..." Remus swallowed thickly, aware the other was still upset with him.

"Leave it, Rem. I won't ask you to stop going on these missions and I know you think they are important. And who knows, maybe they are. Just promise me you'll be careful and actually research the pack you are infiltrating before you leave. If not for me, then for Sirius, because I know he'll never ask you not to go."

"I promise," Remus nodded. "You're right about that I should research the packs I leave to. And I won't leave any more for months at a time without giving a sign of life now and then."

"That's all we ask," James nodded, clasping a hand onto his shoulder before Remus slipped into a bathrobe and followed him out of the bedroom.

"Look who's awake," Lily's voice greeted him and Remus was surprised to see Sirius seated beside her, Harry in his high chair beside him.

"Look, pup. It's Remy," Sirius nudged the toddler, making bright green eyes look up to him with a toothy grin for a moment before his interest was returned to the spoon his godfather was holding.

"Someone's truly his father's son," Lily laughed as Harry happily gurgled at Sirius, reaching out for the spoon the man was filling.

"When did you return?" James asked, moving around the table to ruffle his son's short hair and dropping a kiss into Sirius' hair.

"Early enough to know you already did all the yelling," Sirius smiled up to him before feeding Harry another spoonful of orange coloured stuff Remus couldn't identify by sight alone.

"Ah...I didn't think I yelled that loudly," James winced.

"Sit down before you keel over, Moony. There's chicken soup for you waiting right here," Sirius nodded to the plate beside him.

"I'm sorry, I never meant to worry any of you," Remus blurted out as he leaned against the chair pushed out for him.

"We know. Between your hero worshipping of Dumbledore and eagerness to follow set rules when possible, we know you don't mean to worry us. But that is exactly what you do," Sirius pulled a face at Harry as the boy opened his mouth wide, clearly to show he wanted another bite.

"I don't hero worship the man," Remus protested, grinning when Harry immediately tried to copy Sirius when the other stuck out his tongue.

"Sirius!" Lily berated him half-heartedly even as James burst out in laughter.

"Oh come on..." Sirius protested. "It's not like he's going to... oh."

Remus couldn't stop his own laughter as the six month old immediately stuck out his tongue again, clearly liking this new feature he'd discovered as he began to coo at his godfather happily.

"Yeah, I think it's too late," James choked out between his laughter.

"Honestly, what am I going to do with the three of you," Lily sighed as Harry turned to her to stick his tongue out to her, too.

"Aww, you know you love us, Lil," Sirius grinned, pulling her close for a half hug.

"Whatever did I do to deserve a brother like you," Lily rolled her eyes as Sirius pressed a kiss to her temple.

"You married one of mine," Sirius cheerfully replied and Remus smiled at the clear reference of where he placed in his friend's life.

"Isn't that right, pup? Mummy married Daddy and thus got all of us along with the package," Sirius tickled Harry's stomach, making the infant giggle happily despite not having a clue what his godfather was saying and happily accepted the new spoonful from him.

"We are a family," Lily smiled, placing a hand on Remus' and squeezed. "That means all of us and this family looks after their own."

"I know," Remus smiled at the message in her words and returned the squeeze. "I'll remember it."

"Then your apology is accepted, now eat up before it gets cold," Sirius ordered, kicking against the chair lightly in a clear order to sit down already.

Remus smiled as he did just that, joining his family at the table for a comfortable meal.


End file.
